Energy-dissipation system

ABSTRACT

A child restraint includes a juvenile vehicle seat and an energy-absorption apparatus coupled to the juvenile vehicle seat. The energy-absorption apparatus is configured to absorb external energy associated with an external impact force applied to the energy-absorption apparatus.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/486,884, filed Jun. 1, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,221,366, whichclaims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 61/492,672, filed Jun. 2, 2011, each of which is expresslyincorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to an energy-absorbing apparatus, and inparticular, to devices for dissipating energy associated with externalimpact forces. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to anenergy-dissipation system included in a juvenile product such as achild-restraint system.

When exposed to an external impact force, a juvenile vehicle seat atrest on a seat in a car or truck will accelerate as it moves to a newlocation in the passenger compartment of a car or truck. A child seatedin such a moving juvenile vehicle seat will also accelerate as thejuvenile vehicle seat moves in the passenger compartment.

A g-load is a measurement of an object's acceleration measured in g's.The g is a non-SI unit equal to the nominal acceleration due to gravityon earth at sea level. A short-term acceleration experienced by a childseated in a juvenile vehicle seat (or any other juvenile seat) thatmoves suddenly is called a shock and is measured in g's.

SUMMARY

An energy-dissipation system in accordance with the present disclosureis included in an apparatus that is exposed to external impact forces.In an illustrative embodiment, the energy-dissipation system is coupledto a juvenile vehicle seat to provide a child-restraint system.

In illustrative embodiments, the energy-dissipation system includes afirst force dissipater configured to provide means for absorbingexternal energy applied to the juvenile vehicle seat. The forcedissipater is coupled to a headrest included in the juvenile vehicleseat.

In illustrative embodiments, the energy-dissipation system includes asecond force dissipater. The second force dissipater is coupled to theheadrest of the juvenile vehicle seat in spaced-apart relation oppositethe first force dissipater to define a space therebetween. The space isconfigured to receive a head and shoulders of an occupant sitting in thejuvenile vehicle seat.

In illustrative embodiments, the first force dissipater includes aride-down pad and a pad foundation. The pad foundation is configured toprovide means for supporting the ride-down pad in spaced-apart relationto the headrest. The ride-down pad is coupled to the pad foundation andarranged to extend away from the headrest toward the second forcedissipater. In illustrative embodiments, the ride-down pad includes anarray of crush strips, with each crush strip of the ride-down padincluding a series of hexagon-shaped structures coupled to one anotherto establish a crush strip.

In illustrative embodiments, the second force dissipater includes asecond ride-down pad and a second pad foundation similar in size, shape,and pattern to the ride-down pad and pad foundation of the first forcedissipater. The second ride-down pad includes an array of crush stripssimilar in size, shape, and pattern to the array of crush stripsincluded in the ride-down pad of the first force dissipater.

In illustrative embodiments, the energy-dissipation system also includesa third force dissipater. The third force dissipater is coupled to theheadrest and is arranged to lie in the space between the first andsecond force dissipaters.

In illustrative embodiments, the third force dissipater includes a thirdride-down pad and a third pad foundation. The third pad foundation isconfigured to provide means for supporting the third ride-down pad inspaced apart relation to the headrest. In illustrative embodiments, thethird ride-down pad includes a series of laterally spaced-apart,vertically extending crush strips which cooperate to define the array ofcrush strips in the third force dissipater. In illustrative embodiments,the width of each crush strip is about equal to the width of the spaceprovided between each pair of adjacent crush strips.

Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent tothose skilled in the art upon consideration of illustrative embodimentsexemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presentlyperceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figuresin which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a first embodiment of a childrestraint including a juvenile vehicle seat having a seat bottom for anoccupant or child to sit on and a seat back extending upwardly from theseat bottom, the seat back including a backrest and a headrest coupledto the backrest, the juvenile seat also including an energy-dissipationsystem in accordance with the present disclosure coupled to theheadrest, the energy-dissipation system including a first pad foundationmounted on a first side-wing panel of the headrest, a first ride-downpad coupled to the first pad foundation, a second pad foundation mountedon a second side-wing panel of the headrest, and a second ride-down padcoupled to the second pad foundation, the head and body of the occupantsubstantially aligned with a center line of the juvenile vehicle seat ina position associated with normal riding conditions, theenergy-dissipation system configured to minimize the movement of thechild's head and upper body when the juvenile vehicle seat is subject toan impact force (dashed arrow) as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the child restraint of FIG. 1 justafter an impact force (solid arrow) has been applied to the juvenilevehicle seat and showing that such force causes an upper body orshoulder portion of a child sitting in the juvenile vehicle seat to movein a direction opposite of the impact force relative to the juvenilevehicle seat such that the child's body line is no longer aligned withthe center line of the juvenile vehicle seat and the child's upper bodyor shoulder portion engages with a lower, concave surface of the firstride-down pad to slow the movement of the child's upper body portion andabsorb some of the energy from such movement, the child's head alsomoving in the direction opposite of the impact force relative to thejuvenile vehicle seat as the motion of the child's upper body portionpulls the child's head toward the first ride-down pad such that thechild's head line is also no longer aligned with the center line of thejuvenile vehicle seat;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the child restraint of FIG. 2 butat a point in time that is after FIG. 2, showing that the child's headline has aligned with the child's body line and the head of the childsitting in the juvenile vehicle seat has engaged with a upper, convexsurface of the first ride-down pad that is further away from the firstside-wing panel of the headrest than the lower, concave surface of thefirst ride-down pad, the child's head engaging with the upper, convexsurface of the first ride-down pad to slow movement of the child's headin the direction opposite of the impact force and absorb some of theenergy from such movement, the child's upper body or shoulder portionalso still being engaged with the lower, concave surface of the firstride-down pad;

FIG. 4 is a front-left perspective view of the child restraint of FIGS.1-3 and more clearly shows the juvenile vehicle seat having a seatbottom and a seat back extending upwardly from the seat bottom and theenergy-dissipation system coupled to the seat back, and showing that theseat back comprises a backrest coupled to the seat bottom and a headrestcoupled to the backrest and showing that the energy-dissipation systemcomprises a first pad foundation mounted on an inner wall of a firstside-wing panel included in the headrest, a first ride-down pad coupledto the first pad foundation and extending away from the first side-wingpanel, a second pad foundation mounted on an inner wall of an opposite,second side-wing panel included in the headrest, a second ride-down padcoupled to the second pad foundation and extending away from the secondside-wing panel, a third pad foundation mounted on a forward-facing wallof a rear panel extending between the first and second side-wing panelsand included in the headrest, and a third ride-down pad coupled to thethird pad foundation and extending away from the rear panel;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective assembly view of the child restraintof FIG. 4 showing that the child restraint includes, from top to bottom,an energy-dissipation system comprising the first pad foundation coupledto the first ride-down pad, the second pad foundation coupled to thesecond ride-down pad, and the third pad foundation coupled to the thirdride-down pad and positioned to lie between the first and secondride-down pads, the first pad foundation coupled to the first ride-downpad and the second pad foundation coupled to the second ride-down padbeing mountable on the inner walls of the side-wing panels in theheadrest, the third pad foundation coupled to the third ride-down padbeing mountable on the forward-facing wall of the seat back, the childrestraint also including a juvenile seat comprising the seat backincluding the headrest and the backrest, and a seat bottom;

FIGS. 6A-6F are a series of views showing the energy-dissipation systemof FIGS. 4 and 5 and its effect on a child seated in the child restraintwhen an impact force is applied to the child restraint;

FIG. 6A is a front elevation view of the child restraint and showing achild in the juvenile vehicle seat, the child restraint including theenergy-dissipation system and the child's head and upper body portionbeing positioned between the first ride-down pad and the secondride-down pad prior to an impact force (dashed arrow) being applied tothe child restraint, the child's head and upper body aligned with andexisting along a center-line axis that is generally perpendicular to theseat bottom of the juvenile vehicle seat;

FIG. 6B is a front elevation view of the child restraint of FIG. 6A justafter an impact force (solid arrow) has been applied to the childrestraint and showing the child's upper body or shoulder has engagedwith the first ride-down pad as a result of the impact force beingapplied to the child restraint in a direction opposite of the movementof the child's upper body, the child's head also moving in a directiontoward the first ride-down pad such that both the child's head and bodylines are not aligned with the center-line axis;

FIG. 6C is a front elevation view of the child restraint of FIG. 6A at apoint in time just after the view in FIG. 6B, showing the impact force(solid arrow) causes the child's head to engage with the first ride-downpad in addition to the child's upper body, the child's head and upperbody being angled toward the first ride-down pad with respect to thecenter-line axis as a result of the impact force and showing the firstride-down pad engages with the child's head at a point closer to thecenter-line axis than the distance between the center-line axis and thefirst side-wing panel of the vehicle seat;

FIG. 6D is a front elevation view of the child restraint of FIG. 6A at apoint after the impact force is no longer applied to the child restraintand the child restraint is subject to a recoil or deflection force(solid arrow) as the vehicle comes to a stop, the recoil force being ina direction opposite of the direction the child's body and head traveledas a result of the impact force, the recoil force causing the child'shead and body to be moved in the direction of the recoil force;

FIG. 6E is a front elevation view of the child restraint of FIG. 6A at apoint after the view in FIG. 6D showing the recoil force (solid arrow)has caused the child's body line to shift from angling toward the firstside-wing panel to angling toward the second side-wing panel, thechild's shoulder engaging with the second ride-down pad as a result ofthe recoil force being applied in a similar but opposite manner as thatof the impact force in FIG. 6B, and showing the child's head line isstill slightly angled toward the first side-wing panel;

FIG. 6F is a front elevation view of the child restraint of FIG. 6A at apoint just after the view in FIG. 6E, showing the recoil force (solidarrow) causes the child's head line to shift from angling toward thefirst side-wing panel to angling toward the second side-wing panel, thechild's head engaging with the second ride-down pad in addition to thechild's upper body portion, the child's head line and body line beingagain aligned and angled with respect to the center-line axis as aresult of the recoil force, and showing the angular distance the child'shead line travels from FIG. 6E to FIG. 6F due to the recoil force isless than the angular distance between the child's head line in FIG. 6Eand the second side-wing panel of the vehicle seat;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a portion of the energy-dissipationsystem of FIGS. 4 and 5 and showing the energy-dissipation systemincludes a first pad foundation and a first ride-down pad, the firstride-down pad including an array of outwardly projecting crush stripsand the first pad foundation including a substrate that provides a meansfor supporting the array in spaced-apart relationship, theenergy-dissipation system also including a top and bottom surface, thefirst ride-down pad arranged to extend away from the first side-wingpanel of the vehicle seat toward the second side-wing panel of thevehicle seat when this portion of the energy-dissipation system iscoupled to the first side-wing panel of the vehicle seat to extendgenerally parallel to the top and bottom surfaces;

FIG. 8 is a front elevation view of the portion of theenergy-dissipation system of FIG. 7 and showing the crush strips of thefirst ride-down pad being vertically oriented and formed by a series ofhexagon-shaped structures or crush cells coupled to one another, thecrush cells formed to include a crush aperture or a hexagon-shaped crushaperture that opens into a crush space formed in the crush cells, thecrush cells having six walls of having a generally uniform thickness;

FIG. 9 is a left elevation view of the portion of the energy-dissipationsystem of FIG. 7, showing the first ride-down pad includes a lower,concave surface and an upper, convex surface on a side of the ride-downpad that faces towards the child when this portion of theenergy-dissipation system is coupled to the first side-wing panel of thevehicle seat;

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the portion of the energy-dissipation systemof FIG. 7 showing the array of outwardly projecting crush strips and theincrease in depth of this portion of the energy-dissipation system as itextends upward in a direction away from the bottom surface of thisportion of the energy-dissipation system;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a portion of the energy-dissipationsystem of FIGS. 4 and 5 and showing the energy-dissipation systemincludes a second pad foundation and a second ride-down pad, the secondride-down pad including an array of outwardly projecting crush stripsand the second pad foundation including a substrate that provides ameans for supporting the array in spaced-apart relationship, theenergy-dissipation system also including a top and bottom surface, thesecond ride-down pad arranged to extend away from the second side-wingpanel of the vehicle seat toward the first side-wing panel of thevehicle seat when this portion of the energy-dissipation system iscoupled to the second side-wing panel of the vehicle seat to extendgenerally parallel to the top and bottom surfaces;

FIG. 12 is a front elevation view of the portion of theenergy-dissipation system of FIG. 11 and showing the crush strips of thesecond ride-down pad being vertically oriented and formed by a series ofhexagon-shaped structures or crush cells coupled to one another, thecrush cells formed to include a crush aperture or a hexagon-shaped crushaperture that opens into a crush space formed in the crush cells, thecrush cells having six walls of having a generally uniform thickness;

FIG. 13 is a left elevation view of the portion of theenergy-dissipation system of FIG. 11, showing the second ride-down padincludes a lower, concave surface and an upper, convex surface on a sideof the second ride-down pad that faces towards the child when thisportion of the energy-dissipation system is coupled to the secondside-wing panel of the vehicle seat;

FIG. 14 is a bottom view of the portion of the energy-dissipation systemof FIG. 11 showing the array of outwardly projecting crush strips andthe increase in depth of this portion of the energy-dissipation systemas it extends upward in a direction away from the bottom surface of thisportion of the energy-dissipation system;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the third pad foundation and thirdride-down pad included in the energy-dissipation system of FIGS. 4 and5, the third ride-down pad including an array of outwardly projectingcrush strips arranged to extend away from the third pad foundation whenthe third pad foundation is coupled to a rear panel of the headrest ofthe child restraint and showing the crush strips lie is spaced apartrelationship to each other and define channels therebetween;

FIG. 16 is a left elevation view of the third pad foundation and thirdride-down pad of FIG. 15 showing the third pad foundation is coupled tothe array of outwardly projecting crush strips of the third-ride downpad and configured to provide a means for interconnecting the crushstrips in spaced-apart relation to each other;

FIG. 17 is a top plan view of the third pad foundation and thirdride-down pad of FIG. 15, showing the crush strips are spaced apart fromone another to define a companion slot therebetween, the crush stripsand the companion slots extending the full length of the third ride-downpad;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a childrestraint including a juvenile vehicle seat for supporting an infant andhaving a seat bottom and a seat back extending upwardly from the seatbottom, a base adapted to set on an underlying seat in a vehicle andsupport the juvenile vehicle seat, and an energy-dissipation system inaccordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure coupled tothe seat back and showing that the seat back comprises a backrestcoupled to the seat bottom and a headrest coupled to the backrest andthat the energy-dissipation system comprises a first pad foundationmounted on an inner wall of a first side-wing panel included in theheadrest and coupled to a first ride-down pad and a second force padfoundation mounted on an inner wall of an opposite, second side-wingpanel included in the headrest and coupled to a second ride-down pad;and

FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective assembly view of the child restraintof FIG. 18 showing that the child restraint includes, from top tobottom, an energy-dissipation system comprising the first pad foundationcoupled to the first ride-down pad, the second pad foundation coupled tothe second ride-down pad, the juvenile seat, and the base for supportingthe juvenile seat and suggesting that the first pad foundation iscoupled to an inner wall of the first side-wing panel included in theheadrest and that the second pad foundation is coupled to an inner wallof the second side-wing panel included in the headrest.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A first embodiment of a child restraint 11 is shown in FIGS. 1-5 andcomprises a juvenile vehicle seat 10 and a first embodiment of anenergy-dissipation system 16 that is coupled to the juvenile vehicleseat 10. Another embodiment of a child restraint 111 is illustrated inFIGS. 18-19 and comprises a juvenile vehicle seat 110 and anotherembodiment of an energy-dissipation system 116 that is coupled to thejuvenile vehicle seat 110. It is within the scope of the presentdisclosure to mount energy-dissipation systems 16, 116 on a juvenileseat or other device to dissipate energy transferred to such a seat orapparatus by means of an external impact force applied to the seat orapparatus.

Child restraint 11 includes juvenile vehicle seat 10 andenergy-dissipation system 16 as shown in FIGS. 1-5. In illustrativeembodiments, juvenile vehicle seat 10 includes a seat bottom 12 and aseat back 14 extending upwardly away from seat bottom 12.Energy-dissipation system 16 is coupled to seat back 14 of juvenilevehicle seat 10 as shown in FIG. 4 and suggested in FIG. 5.Energy-dissipation system 16 comprises first, second, and third forcedissipaters 21, 22, 23 that are designed to minimize the g-loadsexperienced by a child seated on seat bottom 12 of juvenile vehicle seat10 during exposure of juvenile vehicle seat 10 to an external impactforce 20.

As suggested in FIG. 4, energy-dissipation system 16 comprises a firstforce dissipater 21, a second force dissipater 22, and a third forcedissipater 23. In the illustrated embodiment, energy-dissipation system16 is coupled to seat back 14 of juvenile vehicle seat 10, and, inparticular, to a headrest 26 included in seat back 14. In illustrativeembodiments, energy-dissipation system 16 is mounted on an insideportion of juvenile vehicle seat 10 as suggested, for example, in FIGS.4 and 5. It is within the scope of the present disclosure to couple oneor more of the energy dissipaters included in energy-dissipation system16 on other portions of juvenile vehicle seat 10 or other juvenile seator device to facilitate absorption of energy caused by external impactforces applied to such seats or devices. It is also within the scope ofthe present disclosure to vary the number of force dissipaters coupledto juvenile vehicle seat.

In the illustrated embodiment, seat back 14 of juvenile vehicle seat 10includes a backrest 24 arranged to extend upwardly from seat bottom 12and a headrest 26 coupled to an upper portion of backrest 24 andarranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to seat bottom 12. As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, headrest 26 is coupled to backrest 24 in a fixedposition. First force dissipater 21 is coupled to an inner wall of afirst side-wing panel 31 included in headrest 26. Second forcedissipater 22 is coupled to an inner wall of a second side-wing panel 32included in headrest 26 to lie in spaced-apart confronting relation tofirst force dissipater 21 as suggested in FIGS. 1 and 1A. Third forcedissipater 23 is coupled to an inner wall of a rear panel 30 as shown inFIG. 1. Third force dissipater 23 is arranged to lie and extend betweenfirst and second force dissipaters 21, 22. It is also within the scopeof the present disclosure to provide a seat back comprising a headrestmounted on the backrest for up-and-down movement relative to thebackrest.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 and 6A-6F, energy-dissipation system 16 isconfigured to absorb energy from external impact forces 20 by providingmeans for deforming the first, second, and/or third force dissipaters21, 22, and/or 23 at a predetermined rate when exposed to the externalimpact force 20 so that they first, second, and/or third forcedissipaters 21, 22, and/or 23 absorb external energy associated with theexternal impact force 20 to reduce g-loads experienced by a child seatedin the juvenile vehicle seat 10. First, second, and/or third forcedissipaters 21, 22, and/or 23 are configured to deform at apredetermined deformation rate when exposed to the external impact force20. The resulting deformation reduces the impact of the child's head asit is moves in the direction the side-wing panel 31, 32. The deformationalso minimizes the acceleration of the child's head in the directionopposite of the impact force 20 during a subsequent recoil force 18.

Energy-dissipation system 16 minimizes acceleration of a child's head byreducing the distance of travel for a child's head and by absorbingimpact energy to minimize deflection forces after a child's head hasimpacted energy-dissipation system 16. As seen in FIGS. 1-3, undernormal riding conditions, the head and body of a child riding in thejuvenile vehicle seat 10 align with a center-line axis C of juvenilevehicle seat 10. As show in FIGS. 1-3, center-line axis C issubstantially perpendicular to the seat bottom 12 of juvenile vehicleseat 10.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, the angle and movement of the head and bodyof a child seated in juvenile vehicle seat 10 can be represented in partby a head-line axis H and a body-line axis B. For example, head-lineaxis H in FIGS. 1-3 identifies an axis that extends through the middleof the child's head and substantially represents the vertical center ofmass for the child's head. Similarly, body-line axis B in FIGS. 1-3identifies an axis that extends through the middle of the child's bodyand substantially represents the vertical center of mass for the child'sbody. Prior to a collision, the child's head-line axis H and body-lineaxis B are coplanar with center-axis line C.

During a collision or other incident, application of an external impactforce 20 to juvenile vehicle seat 10 causes juvenile vehicle seat 10 tomove in the direction of impact force 20 relative to an occupant. As aresult of this movement, the occupant's head-line axis H and body-lineaxis B move toward first force dissipater 21. Such movement causesoccupant to move toward and engage first force dissipater 21. Thisimpact causes energy to be transferred from the impacting object (suchas the occupant's head) to first force dissipater 21, as suggested inFIGS. 1-4. First force dissipater 21 absorbs that transferred energy tominimize the magnitude of a resulting force applied to a child seated injuvenile vehicle seat 10 during the collision. First force dissipater 21functions to minimize the g-loads (acceleration) experienced by thechild seated on seat bottom 12 of juvenile vehicle seat 10 duringexposure of juvenile vehicle seat 10 to external impact force 20 assuggested in FIGS. 1-3. First force dissipater 21 also functions tomaximize the time interval (i.e., ride-down time) between the moment theimpacting object strikes force dissipater 21 and the moment thatresulting force reaches zero.

As illustrated fully in FIGS. 6A-6F, inclusion of first and second forcedissipaters 21 and 22 in energy-dissipation system 16 also minimizes thedistance of travel for a child's head during a collision. Prior to acollision, a child's head and body are generally positioned to bealigned with center-line axis C, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 6A. Immediatelyfollowing a collision, the juvenile vehicle seat 10 will be moved in thedirection of the impact force 20 relative to the child, causing thechild's upper body and head to move in the direction of first forcedissipater 21. Energy-dissipation system 16 minimizes the distance oftravel of a child's head from a first, resting position aligned withcenter-line axis C as seen in FIG. 6A, to a second, angled position whenthe child's head engages with first force dissipater 21 after theexternal impact force 20 has been applied as seen in FIG. 6C. Inaddition, if there is a substantial recoil force 18 from the child'shead when it rebounds or deflects from engagement with first forcedissipater 21, energy-dissipation system 16 minimizes the distance oftravel for a child's head from the second, angled position as seen inFIG. 6C to a third, counter-angled position engaging with second forcedissipater 22 as a result of recoil force 18 in a direction opposite offirst force dissipater 21, as seen in FIG. 6F.

Energy-dissipation system 16 also minimizes the maximum differencebetween a child's head-line axis C and body-line axis B during acollision. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, energy-dissipation system 16 isconfigured to cause a child's body or shoulders to first impact firstforce dissipater 21 before a child's head impacts first force dissipater21. In this way, first force dissipater 21 limits the angle or degree ofmovement of the child's body-line axis B away from center-line axis Cand the child's head-line axis H. As the child's head continues to movetoward first force dissipater 21, the angle between the child'shead-line axis H and body-line axis B continues to shrink because thechild's body-line axis B is held in place by first force dissipater 21,thereby reducing g-loads or other similar forces on the child's head,such as whiplash.

As suggested in FIG. 7, first force dissipater 21 includes a first padfoundation 213 coupled to the seat backrest 24 and a first ride-down pad211. First ride-down pad 211 includes an array of outwardly projectingcrush strips 212. First ride-down pad 211 of outwardly projecting crushstrips 212 is arranged to extend away from first side-wing panel 31toward second side-wing panel 32. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, firstride-down pad 211 includes a series of vertically oriented crush strips212 a, 212 b, 212 c, 212 d, 212 e, and 212 f coupled together. As anillustrative example, a series of hexagon-shaped structures or crushcells 38 are coupled to one another to establish crush strip 212 a asshown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Another series of crush cells 38 are coupledtogether to establish another crush strip 212 b as shown in FIGS. 7 and8. Crush strips 212 a, 212 b are coupled together with other crushstrips 212 c, 212 d, 212 e, and 212 f to establish first ride-down pad211.

Each crush cell 38 includes six walls 39 each having about the samelength. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, each crush cell 38 is formed toinclude a hexagon-shaped crush aperture 40 arranged to open into a crushspace 42 formed in crush cells 38. Crush space 42 is defined between thesix walls 39 of crush cell 38. The six walls 39 are coupled to oneanother to establish a crush-cell perimeter 41. Each wall 39 has anillustrative first thickness T1 as shown in FIG. 7.

First pad foundation 213 is coupled to first ride-down pad 211 as shown,for example, in FIGS. 7-10. First pad foundation 213 is configured toprovide means for supporting first ride-down pad 211 of crush strips 212in spaced-apart relation to headrest 26. First pad foundation 213interconnects first ride-down pad 211 to headrest 26, and in particular,to first side-wing panel 31 as shown in FIG. 4. It is within the scopeof the present disclosure for first pad foundation 213 to be coupled tofirst ride-down pad 211. It is also within the scope of the presentdisclosure for first ride-down pad 211 and pad foundation 213 tocooperate to form a monolithic, first force dissipater 21.

As an example, pad foundation 213 is a sheet of foam material. A sheetis defined to be a broad, relatively thin layer of material having agenerally constant density throughout. However, it is within the scopeof the present disclosure for pad foundation 213 to be a layer ofmaterial including various structures that define voids in thesubstrate. Furthermore, the wall thickness may be varied so as toincrease or decrease a volume of the void. Also, the height of the crushcell 38 may be varied.

As seen in FIGS. 6A-6F and 9, first force dissipater 21 includes a frontsurface 50 and a back surface 52. Front surface 50 faces inward towardthe child and back surface 52 faces outward toward first side-wing panel31 when first force dissipater 21 is coupled to headrest 26 of juvenilevehicle seat 10. Front surface 50 includes an upper, convex surface 54and a lower, concave surface 55 configured to engage with a child's heador upper body portion, respectively, during a collision, as illustratedin FIGS. 7 and 9. Convex surface 54 is positioned between concavesurface 55 and a top surface 56 of first force dissipater 21, andconcave surface 55 is positioned between convex surface 54 and a bottomsurface 57 of first force dissipater 21. Back surface 52 includes a backconvex surface 58, as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 9.

As illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6F and 9, first force dissipater 21 is widernear convex surface 54 than it is near concave surface 55. Bottomsurface 57 is smaller in width than top surface 56 as a result of thesmaller width of the first force dissipater 21 near concave surface 55.In this manner, first force dissipater 21 is arranged to correspond to achild's upper body with concave surface 55 and a child's head withconvex surface 54. The result of this arrangement is that a child'supper body portion will engage with concave surface 55 of first forcedissipater 21 before a child's head will engage with convex surface 54of first force dissipater 21 after an external impact force 20 hasimpacted the juvenile vehicle seat 10.

As suggested in FIG. 11, second force dissipater 22 includes a secondpad foundation 223 coupled to the seat backrest 24 and a secondride-down pad 221. Second ride-down pad 221 includes an array ofoutwardly projecting crush strips 222 a, 222 b, 222 c, 222 d, 222 e, and222 f as shown in FIGS. 11-14. Second ride-down pad 221 of outwardlyprojecting crush strips 222 is arranged to extend away from secondside-wing panel 32 toward first side-wing panel 31. As shown in FIGS. 11and 12, second ride-down pad 221 includes a series of verticallyoriented crush strips 222 coupled together. As an illustrative example,series of crush cells 38 are coupled to one another to establish crushstrip 222 a as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. Another series of crush cells38 are coupled together to one another establish another crush strip 222b as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. Crush strips 222 a, 222 b are coupledtogether with other crush strips 222 c, 222 d, 222 e, and 222 f toestablish second ride-down pad 221.

Second pad foundation 223 is coupled to second ride-down pad 221 asshown, for example, in FIGS. 11-14. Second pad foundation 223 isconfigured to provide means for supporting second ride-down pad 221 ofcrush strips 222 in spaced-apart relation to headrest 26. Second padfoundation 223 interconnects second ride-down pad 221 to headrest 26,and in particular, to second side-wing panel 32 as shown in FIG. 4. Itis within the scope of the present disclosure for second pad foundation223 to be coupled to second ride-down pad 221. It is also within thescope of the present disclosure for second ride-down pad 221 and secondpad foundation 223 to cooperate to form a monolithic second forcedissipater 22.

As an example, second pad foundation 223 is a sheet of foam material. Asheet is defined to be a broad, relatively thin layer of material havinga generally constant density throughout. However, it is within the scopeof the present disclosure for second pad foundation 223 to be a layer ofmaterial including various structures that define voids in thesubstrate. Furthermore, the wall thickness may be varied so as toincrease or decrease a volume of the void. Also, the height of the crushcell 38 may be varied.

Each crush cell 38 includes six walls 39 each having about the samelength. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, each crush cell 38 is formed toinclude hexagon-shaped crush aperture 40 arranged to open into crushspace 42 formed in crush cell 38. The six walls 39 of the crush cell 38define crush aperture 40. Crush space 42 is defined between the sixwalls 39. The six walls 39 are coupled to one another to establishcrush-cell perimeter 41. Each wall has a first thickness T1 as shown inFIG. 11. It is within the scope of the present disclosure to vary thewall 39 thickness so as to increase or decrease a volume of the crushspace 42.

As seen in FIGS. 6A-6F and 13, second force dissipater 22 includes afront surface 60 and a back surface 62. Front surface 60 faces inwardtoward the child and back surface 62 faces outward toward secondside-wing panel 32 when second force dissipater 22 is coupled toheadrest 26 of juvenile vehicle seat 10. Front surface 60 includes anupper, convex surface 64 and a lower, concave surface 65 configured toengage with a child's head or upper body portion, respectively, during acollision, as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 13. Convex surface 64 ispositioned between concave surface 65 and a top surface 66 of secondforce dissipater 22, and concave surface 65 is positioned between convexsurface 64 and a bottom surface 67 of second force dissipater 22. Backsurface 62 includes a back convex surface 68, as illustrated in FIGS. 11and 13.

As illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6F and 13, second force dissipater 22 iswider near convex surface 64 than it is near concave surface 65. Bottomsurface 67 is smaller in width than top surface 66 as a result of thesmaller width of the second force dissipater 22 near concave surface 65.In this manner, second force dissipater 22 is arranged to correspond toa child's upper body with concave surface 65 and a child's head withconvex surface 64. The result of this arrangement is that a child'supper body portion will engage with concave surface 65 of second forcedissipater 22 before a child's head will engage with convex surface 64of second force dissipater 22 after an external impact force 20 hasimpacted the juvenile vehicle seat 10.

As suggested in FIG. 15, third force dissipater 23 includes a third padfoundation 233 coupled to the seat backrest 24 and a third ride-down pad231. Third ride-down pad 231 includes an array of outwardly projectingcrush strips 232 a, 232 b, 232 c, 232 d, 232 e, 232 f, and 232 g asshown in FIGS. 15-17. Third ride-down pad 231 of outwardly projectingcrush strips 232 a, 232 b, 232 c, 232 d, 232 e, 232 f, and 232 g isarranged to extend away from rear panel 30 of headrest 26 into space 28defined between first and second force dissipaters 21, 22 as shown inFIG. 4. As an illustrative example, a first crush strip 232 a is anextended portion that is positioned to lie in spaced-apart relation to asecond crush strip 232 b to define a slot or channel portion 234 atherebetween. Each pair of adjacent crush strips 232 is spaced apartfrom one another to define a companion channel portion 234 atherebetween as shown in FIGS. 15 and 17.

As shown in FIG. 15, each extended portion of crush strips 232 has arectangular shape and has a first width W. Each channel portion 234defined between each adjacent pair of crush strips 232 has a secondwidth W2. It is within the scope of the present disclosure for firstwidth W to be about equal to second width W2. It is also within thescope of the present disclosure for first width W to be less than secondwidth W2 or greater than second width W2.

Third pad foundation 233 is coupled to third ride-down pad 231 as shown,for example, in FIGS. 15-17. Third pad foundation 233 is configured toprovide means for supporting third ride-down pad 231 of crush strips 232in spaced-apart relation to headrest 26. Third pad foundation 233interconnects third ride-down pad 231 to headrest 26, and in particular,to rear panel 30 as shown in FIG. 4. It is within the scope of thepresent disclosure for third pad foundation 233 to be coupled to thirdride-down pad 231. It is also within the scope of the present disclosurefor third ride-down pad 231 and third pad foundation 233 to cooperate toform a monolithic third force dissipater 23.

As an example, third pad foundation 233 is a substrate or sheet of foammaterial. A sheet is defined to be a broad, relatively thin layer ofmaterial having a generally constant density throughout. However, it iswithin the scope of the present disclosure for third pad foundation 233to be a layer of material including various structures that define voidsin the third-pad foundation 233. Furthermore, the wall thickness may bevaried so as to increase or decrease a volume of the void.

Any suitable means may be used to retain first, second, and third forcedissipaters 21, 22, 23 in the mounted positions shown in FIGS. 1-4 and6A-6F. As an example, force dissipaters may be coupled to panels 30, 31,32 using fasteners such as hook-and-loop fasteners, glue, or any othersuitable alternatives. In an illustrative embodiment, a fastener retainsfirst force dissipater 21 in a fixed position relative to firstside-wing panel 31.

Each of first, second, and third force dissipaters 21, 22, 23 isconfigured to deform at about a predetermined rate when exposed to apredetermined external impact force 20. It is within the scope of thisdisclosure to make first, second, and third force dissipaters 21, 22, 23out of crushable designed material, foams (e.g., extruded polymerproducts, extra cellular polymer substances, Polyurethane (PU),Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE), Polypropylene (PP), ExpandedPolypropylene (EPP), Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) etc.), polystyrene (PS),or combinations of the foregoing materials.

Force dissipaters may be arranged to extend beyond a rim 34 of headrest26 as shown, for example, in FIG. 4. Headrest 26 includes rim 34 thatextends along first side-wing panel 31, rear panel 30, and secondside-wing panel 32 and faces upwardly away from seat back 14. As shownin FIG. 4, second force dissipater 22 includes a front perimeter surface36 that extends outwardly beyond rim 34 and faces away from headrest 26.As an illustrative example, second force dissipater 22 extends beyondrim 34 a distance D1 which is defined to be between rim 34 and frontperimeter surface 36 as shown in FIG. 4. It is also within the scope ofthe present disclosure for front perimeter surface 36 to lie below rim34. It is also within the scope of the present disclosure for the frontperimeter surface to be configured to match the shape of rim 34 so thatthe front perimeter surface does not lie below or extend beyond rim 34.

A second illustrative child restraint 111 includes juvenile vehicle seat110, a seat base 113, and energy-dissipation system 116 as shown inFIGS. 18 and 19. Juvenile vehicle seat 110 is coupled to seat base 113which is couple to a vehicle seat 44 as suggested in FIG. 18.Energy-dissipation system 116 comprises a force dissipater that isdesigned to minimize the g-loads experienced by a child seated on a seatbottom 112 of juvenile vehicle seat 110 during exposure of juvenilevehicle seat 110 to an external impact force. As an illustrativeexample, energy-dissipation system 116 includes first and second forcedissipaters 21, 22 as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19.

As shown in FIG. 18, energy-dissipation system 116 is coupled to seatback 114 of juvenile vehicle seat 110, and, in particular, to a headrest126 included in seat back 114. In illustrative embodiments,energy-dissipation system 116 is mounted on an inside portion ofjuvenile vehicle seat 110 as suggested, for example, in FIGS. 18 and 19.It is within the scope of the present disclosure to couple one or moreof the force dissipaters included in energy-dissipation system 116 onother portions of juvenile vehicle seat 110 or other juvenile seat ordevice to facilitate absorption of energy caused by external impactforces applied to such seats or devices. It is also within the scope ofthe present disclosure to vary the number of force dissipaters coupledto the juvenile vehicle seat.

In the illustrated embodiment, seat back 114 of juvenile vehicle seat110 includes a backrest. 124 arranged to extend upwardly from seatbottom 112 and headrest 126 coupled to backrest 124. First forcedissipater 21 is coupled to an inner wall of a first side-wing panel 131included in headrest 126. Second force dissipater 22 is coupled to aninner wall of a second side-wing panel 132 included in headrest 126.

During a collision or other incident, application of an external impactforce 20 to juvenile vehicle seat 110 causes juvenile vehicle seat 110to move in the direction of impact force 20 (not shown) relative to anoccupant. Such movement causes occupant to move toward and engage withor impact first force dissipater 21. This impact causes energy to betransferred from the impacting object (such as the occupant's shouldersand head) to first force dissipater 21 as suggested in FIG. 18.

First force dissipater 21 absorbs that transferred energy to minimizethe magnitude of a resulting force applied to a child seated in juvenilevehicle seat 110 during the collision. First force dissipater 21functions to minimize the g-loads (acceleration) experienced by thechild seated on seat bottom 112 of juvenile vehicle seat 110 duringexposure of seat 110 to external impact force 20 as suggested in FIG.18. First force dissipater 21 also functions to maximize the timeinterval (i.e., ride-down time) between the moment the impacting objectstrikes first force dissipater 21 to apply the external impact force andthe moment that resulting force reaches zero.

First force dissipater 21 and second force dissipater 22 of juvenilevehicle seat 110 are substantially similar in size, shape, and patternto the first and second force dissipaters 21 and 22 as described forjuvenile vehicle seat 10.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A child restraint comprising a juvenilevehicle seat including a seat bottom and a seat back coupled to the seatbottom and arranged to extend upwardly away from the seat bottom and anenergy-dissipation system including a pad foundation coupled to the seatback and a ride-down pad having a lower concave surface and an upperconvex surface coupled to the pad foundation to locate the padfoundation between the seat back and the ride-down pad, the ride-downpad being configured to provide means for controlling movement of anoccupant sitting on the juvenile vehicle seat during application of animpact force to a side of the juvenile vehicle seat to cause a shoulderof the occupant to impact the lower concave surface of the ride-down padto cause the ride-down pad to deform at a predetermined rate so that afirst portion of impact energy associated with the impact force isabsorbed and then to cause a head of the occupant to impact the upperconvex surface of the ride-down pad to cause the ride-down pad to deformat the predetermined rate so that a second portion of impact energyassociated with the impact force is absorbed and g-loads experienced bythe occupant seated in the juvenile vehicle seat are minimized.
 2. Thechild restraint of claim 1, wherein the ride-down pad includes a frontsurface and a back surface and the front surface is adapted to beimpacted by the occupant during application of the impact force.
 3. Thechild restraint of claim 2, wherein the back surface is coupled to thepad foundation.
 4. The child restraint of claim 1, wherein the concavesurface and the convex surface meet at a point that is tangential toboth the concave and the convex surface.
 5. The child restraint of claim4, wherein the point is about midway between a top end of the ride-downpad and an opposite bottom end of the ride-down pad.
 6. The childrestraint of claim 4, wherein the ride-down pad includes a front surfaceand a back surface, the front surface is adapted to be impacted by theoccupant during application of the impact force, the ride-down padfurther includes a top end positioned to lie in spaced-apart relationabove the seat bottom and a bottom end positioned to lie between the topend and the seat bottom, and the ride-down pad has a top thicknessdefined between the front surface and the back surface at the top end ofthe ride-down pad and a bottom thickness defined between the frontsurface and the back surface at the bottom end of the ride-down pad. 7.The child restraint of claim 1, wherein the ride-down pad includes a topportion adapted to be impacted by the head of the occupant and a bottomportion adapted to be impacted by the shoulder of the occupant.
 8. Thechild restraint of claim 7, wherein the top portion includes a frontface that is convex and the bottom portion includes a front face that isconcave.
 9. The child restraint of claim 1, wherein the seat backincludes a backrest and a headrest, the backrest is arranged tointerconnect the headrest and seat bottom and the energy-dissipationsystem is coupled to the headrest.
 10. The child restraint of claim 9,wherein the headrest includes a rear panel coupled to the backrest toextend upwardly away from the backrest, a first side-wing panel coupledto the rear panel to extend outwardly away from the rear panel above theseat bottom, and a second side-wing panel coupled to the rear panel inspaced-apart relation to the first side-wing panel to extend outwardlyaway from the rear panel above the seat bottom, and theenergy-dissipation system is coupled to the first side-wing panel to liebetween the first and second side-wing panels.
 11. The child restraintof claim 9, wherein the headrest is coupled to the backrest to move upand down relative to the backrest.
 12. A child restraint comprising ajuvenile vehicle seat including a seat bottom and a seat back extendingupwardly from the seat bottom, the seat back including a headrest and abackrest extending between the seat bottom and the headrest, theheadrest including a first side-wing panel and a second side-wing panelarranged to lie in spaced apart relation to the first side-wing paneland to define an occupant-receiving space therebetween, and anenergy-dissipation system coupled to the headrest and arranged to absorbside impact forces, the energy-dissipation system including first andsecond force dissipaters, the first force dissipater including a firstpad foundation coupled to the first side-wing panel and a firstride-down pad coupled to the first pad foundation, the second forcedissipater including a second pad foundation coupled to the secondside-wing panel and a second ride-down pad coupled to the second padfoundation, and the first and second force dissipaters are arranged toextend into the occupant-receiving space toward one another and eachride-down pad has a convex upper surface and a concave lower surfacearranged to provide means for causing a child's shoulder to first impactthe first force dissipater before the child's head impacts the firstforce dissipater.
 13. A child restraint comprising a juvenile vehicleseat including a seat bottom and a seat back coupled to the seat bottomand arranged to extend upwardly away from the seat bottom and anenergy-dissipation system including a pad foundation coupled to the seatback and a ride-down pad coupled to the pad foundation to locate the padfoundation between the seat back and the ride-down pad, the ride-downpad having a lower concave surface and an upper convex surface and beingconfigured to provide means for controlling movement of an occupantsitting on the juvenile vehicle seat during application of an impactforce to a side of the juvenile vehicle seat to first cause a shoulderof the occupant to impact the ride-down pad to cause the ride-down padto deform at a predetermined rate so that a first portion of impactenergy associated with the impact force is absorbed and to second causea head of the occupant to impact the ride-down pad to cause theride-down pad to deform at the predetermined rate so that a secondportion of impact energy associated with the impact force is absorbedand g-loads experienced by the occupant seated in the juvenile vehicleseat are minimized.
 14. The child restraint of claim 1, wherein theride-down pad includes a front surface, a back surface, a top surfaceand a bottom surface, the front surface being a first distance from theback surface at the top surface and the front surface being a seconddistance from the back surface at the bottom surface, the first distancebeing greater than the second distance.
 15. The child restraint of claim12, wherein the first and second force dissipaters are arranged to causethe child's other shoulder to first impact the second force dissipaterbefore the child's head impacts the second force dissipater.